Postdoctoral position in virus evolution and epidemiology

A 2.5-year postdoc position in available in the research group of Roman Biek in the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow.

We are looking for a computational biologist interested in pathogen evolution and epidemiology to work on a project that aims to uncover the role of evolutionary and environmental factors in virus emergence, spread and persistence, using bluetongue virus (BTV) as the study system. BTV is an RNA virus responsible for a globally important vector-borne disease in domestic and wild ungulates that has made repeated incursions into Europe in recent decades. Previous work in our group has highlighted the importance of genomic reassortment (Nomikou et al., 2015) and of large-scale environmental variability in the spread of European BTV strains (Jacquot et al. 2017). The aim of the current project is to study dynamics of BTV emergence and spread, and the underlying mechanisms, at the scale of individual European outbreaks through the integrated analysis of genomic, spatial and temporal data. The post is funded as part of a large EU research consortium entitled “Understanding pathogen, livestock, and environment interactions involving bluetongue virus” (PALE-Blu, http://www.palebludata.com).

The applicant should have a PhD in a relevant field of biology or bioinformatics. Previous experience in computational analysis of genetic sequence data and strong quantitative skills will be essential, ideally including familiarity with high-throughput sequencing and large genomic data sets. The genetic data will be generated through project collaborators so the work is exclusively focussed on data analysis and lab skills are not required. Knowledge of epidemiological models, phylodynamic approaches, and pathogen evolution would be desirable but not essential. The candidate should be self-motivated and be able to work independently and have excellent communication skills. In addition to drafting scientific papers, the candidate would be expected to present at scientific conferences and manage collaborations with project partners.

Salary will be on the Research & Teaching Grade, level 6/7 - £28,098 - £31,604/£34,520 - £38,833 per annum.
This post is available immediately (though exact starting time is negotiable) and is offered on a full time and open-ended basis with funding to October 2020.

Potential applicants are encouraged to make informal inquiries to roman.biek@glasgow.ac.uk. Formal applications need to be submitted under http://www.jobs.ac.uk/job/BIH789/research-assistant-research-associate/. The application deadline is 19 April 2018.

The University of Glasgow’s Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine (IBAHCM) is internationally recognised for its research expertise in quantitative ecological and evolutionary approaches for studying the dynamics of infectious disease and providing solutions for their control. In the 2014 REF, Glasgow was ranked 3rd in the UK in Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Science, with 82% of impact and 91% of outputs considered ‘internationally excellent’ or ‘world leading’. Biek is a member of the Boyd Orr Centre for Population and Ecosystem Health at Glasgow, representing an interdisciplinary group of ecologists, veterinary scientists, evolutionary biologists, mathematicians and engineers, which was awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2013 (http://www.gla.ac.uk/boydorr/).

In Oct 2016 the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine was awarded an Athena SWAN Silver departmental award. The award demonstrates our commitment to best practice in recruiting and supporting the career development and progression of female scientists, addressing gender inequalities in higher education. http://www.gla.ac.uk/researchinstitutes/bahcm/institute/athenaswan/

References
Nomikou, K., Hughes, J., Wash, R., Kellam, P., Breard, E., Zientara, S., Palmarini, M., Biek, R*. and Mertens, P*., 2015. Widespread reassortment shapes the evolution and epidemiology of bluetongue virus following European invasion. PLoS Pathogens, 11(8), p.e1005056. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005056
*joint senior authors

Jacquot, M., Nomikou, K., Palmarini, M., Mertens, P. and Biek, R., 2017. Bluetongue virus spread in Europe is a consequence of climatic, landscape and vertebrate host factors as revealed by phylogeographic inference. Proc. R. Soc. B, 284(1864), p.20170919. doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0919

Dr. Roman Biek
Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine
University of Glasgow
Rm 401, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ

Email: roman.biek@glasgow.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)141 330 4954

http://www.gla.ac.uk/researchinstitutes/bahcm/staff/romanbiek/
Twitter: @rbiek